I Promise You Freedom
by SanoGirl
Summary: SEQUEL TO "I CANNOT OFFER YOU FREEDOM". 20 years after Robin and Michael fled the STN-J, the hunt has started up again in earnest. But what happens when Robin is taken, and what will become of her and her love for Michael?
1. Chapter 1

I Promise You Freedom 

~~~

"Be careful Inari," the woman called, watching the door close behind her son.

"Yeah, mom" came the typical reply, followed shortly by the sound of the door slamming. Sighing, the young woman turned back to her book. But every time she tried to read, her eyes burned and the symbol for "witch" filled her vision.

~~~

"You can go a little faster, you know."

"Well I don't want to go a little faster."

You're only doing 40."

"Who cares? Why are you in such a hurry?" Sakaki glanced over at the woman sitting beside him and grinned as her sparkling blue eyes met his. They always bickered like this over pointless issues, but it was all in good fun and there was no malice behind their teasing words.

"I want to go home, I'm hungry," she replied, turning and looking out the window at the late afternoon sun.

Sakaki laughed and peeked down at her swollen stomach. "I'm beginning to think that's from all the food you've been eating, not from the baby, Yurika."

With a cry of outrage, his wife reached over and slapped his leg. "Keep your eyes on the road Haruto, or you'll kill all three of us!"

Still laughing, Sakaki faced forwards once more, and immediately slammed on his brakes. His good arm reached over to steady his wife as a slender form darted out of the road and onto the sidewalk. "Stupid kid," he muttered. Then, raising his voice, "Watch it, twerp! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

But the child, who looked to be about 11 or 12 years old, merely stood and stared at them, huge eyes luminous in the fading light. Grunting, the hunter started the car again and drove off, this time keeping his eyes riveted on the road.

"Haruto…" Doujima said though truthfully, she could be called that no longer. Her eyes were wide and frightened as she too stared straight ahead.

"What?" came the worried reply; eyes flickered towards her pregnant form, deciding she was more important than any careless child.

"That boy…he…he looked…" She paused for a moment, and Sakaki waited patiently, knowing by now that his wife would let him know when she found the words.

"He looked like Michael…"

~~~

With a sigh, Nagira snuffed out his cigarette and pulled is lanky form to its feet. Grabbing his coat, he headed towards the door, but was stopped by an inquisitive Hanamura. "Going somewhere Mr. Nagira?"

"I'm gonna go check up on a client, see if she needs anything, then I'm going home. Why?" He gave the blonde woman an annoyed glance, which she promptly returned a thousand fold.

"Because we have clients coming in early tomorrow morning, and you _have_ to be here! So don't be up and about until all hours of the morning!""

Shrugging, the tall man brushed by her and left the Nagira Law Offices building, getting in is car and heading towards a slightly more run-down part of the city. He whistled a little and double-checked his pocket for the tiny, square disk with its precious, illegal contents. He had promised it to Inari a week ago, and had only just gotten a hold of it now. He smiled at the thought of the 12-year-old boy and wished, for what must have been the millionth time, that the kid was his own son.

Ever since the boy's father had died (he was after all a witch, and witches were hunted), Nagira had become his father figure, checking up on him and bringing him little treats and surprises when he could. Shaking his head, Nagira wondered if maybe he hadn't spent as much time with Inari as he should have; the father had died before his son was old enough to remember him and besides his mother, he had no one in his life.

The side-burned man did not remember ever becoming this attached to one of his clients before. From the time when Amon's half-brother had started helping this particular family, nearly 20 years ago now, they had been in hiding. At first, the woman, who was also a witch, had been afraid only for her husband's life, but as time wore on, her concern spread to her own life and to that of their child's. Even though Solomon had stopped hunting them, the woman had chose to keep herself and Inari well out of sight.

Now, as her powers were flaring up once more and Inari's own were blooming, the hunt was beginning anew, and Nagira was worried.

Stepping down harder on the gas pedal, his flickered between the road and his surroundings, searching for any signs of trouble.

~~~

Robin stared out the window at the dying sun and sighed softly as its rays warmed her face. She rubbed her slender arms, for the room was chill, and turned back to the shared bed. Rumpled sheets and twisted blankets met her eye; the old habits impressed on her by the nuns at the convent had long since faded.

A willowy form was stretched out on top of the coverings, watching her with eyes that gleamed in the golden light. Smiling, she turned away from the small pane of glass and joined the other person on the bed, wrapping her arms around the other's body.

Night crept slowly over the small room as the two on the bed lay in each other's arms and fell into a light, restless slumber.

~~~

Well, here it is, my promised sequel! ^.^ Yes, I know the title is cheesy and unoriginal, but I was out of ideas, ok?! Plus, I was sitting in school doing all this so cut me some slack. ^-^

Sorry if this chapter seemed a little confusing, but it will get better, I promise! I have reasons for doing what I'm doing and you'll find out as the story progresses.

I love starting new stories, I really do. And I love finishing them even more (Heh-heh) but somehow, I have a feeling this is going to be a long one, kinda like "I Cannot Offer You Freedom" was. That was my longest fanfic ever and it was over 22,000 words! @_@ So anyways, I'm really exited about this, and I'm awaiting your feedback impatiently! ^_~

~SanoGirl


	2. Chapter 2

I Promise You Freedom 

~~~ 

The car sped along the road at a pace slighter faster then the speed limit allowed, but that was the last thing on Nagira's mind at the moment. All that mattered now was getting to see Inari. Eyes scanning the houses he passed, he eased up on the accelerator and eased down upon the brake, finally stopping outside a small home that looked no different from any of the others on its street. 

The scrawny form of young child flew out the door and barreled down the steps, almost knocking the older man over as its arms locked around his stomach. "Nagira!" the boy exclaimed, his grinning face turned upwards to meet the other man's. 

"Hey Inari, I got something for ya." Nagira reached into his pocket and yanked out the promised disk. 

Eyes widening, Inari grabbed the disk and dashed back inside, past the figure of his mother, who had just appeared in the open doorway. All she caught was a flash of his overjoyed grin before he disappeared, most likely to his computer. 

She smiled as the brown-haired man approached, and he returned the smile tiredly. "It's so good to see you Nagira." 

"Yeah, sorry I haven't visited in the past few days…Robin." 

~~~ 

Sakaki looked over at the shaken form of his wife, now seated across from him at the table that stood in their kitchen. "So, he reminded you of Michael?" he asked, wanting to make sure he had everything straight. 

"Not just reminded me, Haruto! It was like I was seeing him all over again! This kid was an exact copy of him, right down to his hair and glasses. I almost had a heart attack…It's been so long…since we've seen them…" She trailed off and turned her blonde head to gaze out the window at the purple dusk that now streaked the sky. 

Sighing with regret, Sakaki reached out and stroked her hand with his one good one. "I'm sure they're both doing fine, Yurika." 

"But how can you be sure?" She turned back to her husband, and her eyes flickered down to the empty sleeve hanging from his left side. "I can't help but think about it every day, and it haunts my dreams at least once a month. It's as if…as if we're not finished yet. Like there's something greater out there, a bigger part we have to play." 

The one-armed hunter did not know how to answer, so he merely shrugged. "I guess we'll have to wait and see," he mused quietly. 

~~~ 

The clicking of computer keys sounded in the room and Robin was transported to time almost 20 years ago when that very same sound had filled the workroom at Raven's Flat. She had not been there since Michael had left for the second time, and she wondered how everyone else was doing. 

"Robin!" 

Nagira's loud voice brought her out of her reminiscing with a jolt. "What?" she said softly. 

"I said, it looks as if that's what Inari was looking for." He jerked his head towards the room from which the typing sounds were emanating. 

Robin nodded and glanced towards Inari's room, a small smile dancing around the corners of her mouth. "He's just like his father," she said, her voice wistful with memories nearly two decades gone. "He even refuses to take off Michael's old glasses…" She trailed off and Nagira smiled at her in return. 

"He looks just like him, you know," the side-burned man said. "Except for his eyes; he has your eyes. But the fact that he wears those glasses only emphasizes the resemblance." 

Robin nodded once more and turned pain-filled eyes back upon Amon's half-brother. "I'm reminded of that fact every moment of every day. It's hard to hide the pain from Inari, but I would rather die then let him see that. I love him more then anything, he is my whole world, but every so often, when I glance up, I think it is Michael standing there, and not my son." 

Nagira made a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat and patted her arm gently. "He's a good kid." 

"They're after us again," Robin replied, her voice faraway once more. "Somehow they've discovered us and Inari's powers and they're going to hunt us again." 

"I know, we have to do something…and fast!" 

"His powers are just like Michael's…" The blonde-haired woman did not seem to have heard the older man. Her voice still sounded as if it were trapped in the past, and her emerald eyes were fogged with a haze of remembrance. "I never even knew…" 

Nagira fell silent; he knew better then to try and talk to the witch before him when she fell into one of her spells like this. It was like trying to talk to a wall. No, he took that back, even the wall would have been more responsive then a memory-trapped Robin. 

"We named after his mother you know. Inara was her name…" She laughed softly. "They all look so much alike." 

Sighing, Nagira got to his feet and stuck his head in the room where Inari was still typing away. "Get what you wanted, kid?" 

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, turning from the glowing monitor. "It's perfect, thanks Uncle Nagira!" 

The older man smiled and gave the boy a thumbs up. "Glad to be of service. Listen, you know as well as I do that the files on that disk are classified Solomon information; be careful what you do with it, and make sure you keep your mother safe." His tone grew stern as he said these words and Inari's eyes grew serious. 

"Is she…not here again?" Not here was how the twelve-year-old described Robin's periods of reminiscing. 

With a heavy sigh, Nagira nodded and told him, "I've got to being going home now, watch out for her and remember-" 

"I know, I know," Inari said, rolling his eyes. "Stay out of sight as much as possible and don't use my powers if I can help it. Damn, you tell me this every time, Nagira!" 

With a grin, the brown haired man strode over and flicked the kid on the head gently. "Watch your mouth!" 

"Nyah!" Michael's son said, sticking his tongue out at the taller man. 

Ruffling his hair and chuckling, Nagira said goodbye and stepped back out into the main room where Robin still sat. "I'm leaving now," he said in a careful tone, making eye contact with her, even though he knew she would not see him. "Be careful and protect Inari, okay?" 

With these words he left the little house, closing the door firmly behind him and locking it with a set of spare keys, since he knew Robin wouldn't. He shook his head and sent gray-streaked brown hair flying. He didn't know what would happen if Solomon found them and Robin was lost in her mind like this. 

There was only one thing he could be sure of in that worst-case scenario: the outcome would not be pleasant. 

~~~ 

The sky above was a flat gray-blue and the clouds hung thick and low above the rolling ground. Stones dotted the hillsides among the flowers and monuments; seemingly endless rows of them stretched on before the woman's eyes. But she had found the one she was looking for, and it was the only one that mattered to her. 

Sighing softly, Karasuma bent down and lay the bouquet of brightly colored spring flowers down on the warm ground. She brushed her fingertips over the worn stone and traced the familiar words that were, by now, committed to memory. 

A grave. 

Amon's grave. 

Tears in her eyes, she stood up once more and said a silent prayer, her lips moving in time with her words. After another silent moment, she turned and fled the cemetery, not wanting to be there a moment longer. 

For this was the day when, nineteen years ago, Amon had departed this life; it was the day things had started to fall apart. 

~~~ 

Well…*evil laugh* What do you think? Some of you picked up on things here and there, but no one got the entire picture. And no one got the fact that Michael was dead! I feel so…evil… *shudders* Ok, enough of that. In all honesty, I've got this entire fic planned out; I just need to find the time to write it all! . Now that I've killed off two of the favorite characters, how do you all feel towards me? 

I've also got a POSSIBLE third story in the makings, but I want to see what the outcome for this one is first. I'm hoping to get even more reviews on this story then on "I Cannot Offer You Freedom"! ^.^ But, in the end, it all comes down to you guys. 

And so far, you've been more then wonderful. 

~SanoGirl


	3. Chapter 3

I Promise You Freedom

~~~

Yawning, Sakaki stepped off the elevator and into the STN-J building like he did every morning. "Morning!" a familiar voice chirped to his right, and he turned, eyeing the younger girl skeptically.

"How can you be so awake at this hour of the morning?!" The one-armed hunter slumped into his chair tiredly.

"But Sakaki-sama, it's already 8:30!"

But all the 16-year-old received by way of an answer was a loud moan. "Oh for heaven's sake!" Karasuma exclaimed, striding into the room. She looked much more awake then the younger man; her eyes were alert and there was a spring in her step that Sakaki's was lacking. "You've been working this job for twenty years and you still can't wake up in the mornings?!"

"Oh, good morning Miss Karasuma!" the girl said, smiling at her female idol.

"Morning, Tima."

"I hope you manage to wake up soon." Another voice joined in the conversation. "We've got another hunt to do, and according to headquarters, this one's urgent."

Rolling his eyes, Sakaki turned to the computer where Michael had used to sit all those years ago, and eyed the young man sitting in front of it sardonically. "Do tell."

A head of spiky brown hair appeared above a pair of glittering deep violet eyes. "It's a kid this time."

"I hate hunting children!" Yurika's voice floated towards them from the direction of the elevator and they saw her shiver a little as she entered the room. "Sorry I'm a little late."

"Feeling better?" Sakaki asked sympathetically as his wife came over and sat down next to him, planting a peck on his cheek.

"A little," she answered. "But I really hate it when we have to take kids in. I get really guilty."

"I know the feeling," the young Tima answered.

"Well, this one's twelve almost thirteen so he's a little older. Name's Inari…Lives with his mother somewhere over on the other side of the city. Hmm…" The brown haired man frowned as he stared at the glowing monitor.

"What? Come on Azlar! This isn't the time to be dramatic!" Sakaki snapped, the irritation in his voice growing.

Normally this would have sparked a fight between the two male members of the team, but today it seemed as if the nineteen-year-old was too absorbed in his work to care. "Looks like we'll be hunting his mother too."

"Fine by me," Sakaki shrugged. "If they're related they'll most likely be together and we can kill two birds with one stone."

Tima shuddered. "Don't say kill!"

The soon-to-be father rolled his eyes and glanced at his wife, who merely gave him a patient smile and laid a hand on his arm. Ever since Yurika had gotten pregnant, Sakaki had noticed drastic changes in his wife. She seemed to have acquired a sense of patience and a role as the stability in their risky life that the man would never understand. She even seemed to glow at times, as if some inner light were shining softly through her skin.

Now, her other hand drifted down to rest lightly on the growing bulge, as it often did as of late. Sakaki smiled at her and received a light kiss in return.

"Please, save the warm, fuzzy feelings for the bedroom," Azlar said dryly, standing up and slipping into his jacket.

"Come on, Azlar! We need to get this done, so why don't _you_ keep _your_ comments to yourself!" Karasuma sounded extremely annoyed with the younger male's behavior and he shot her a glare that could have melted solid rock. "Keep your petty male ego issues to yourselves!" Her reprimand included Sakaki this time, and Yurika and Tima giggled accordingly.

Both Sakaki and Azlar gave her a deadly look this time, but she merely ignored them both and picked up her Orbo gun. "Everyone ready to head out?"

She was met by nods all around and Azlar's voice giving out the exact location and the announcement that he was sending all vital information to their mobile units.

"By the way," Tima added as they all filed towards the elevator. "What's Inari's mother's name?"

"Um…" the young man fumbled in his pocket for a second before yanking out the small phone. "Lesse…uh…some chick named Robin Sena."

~~~

_Kill…hunt…kill…KILL!_

"MOM!" Inari shot up in bed, eyes wide and sweat pouring down his face. His thin chest heaved rapidly as his lungs tried desperately to keep up with his racing heart.

"Oh good you're finally up," Robin said, poking her head into the room. "It's already almost noon you know. You stay up too late on that computer and-"

"No, Mom! I had another dream…They're coming for us!" He jumped up out of bed and ran over to the blonde woman, grabbing her thin arms tightly. "That place you used to work for…"

"Solomon!" Robin gasped.

"Yeah, them! They're hunting us!" He turned away and went to the small window, the very one his mother liked to stare out of so often. "And I know it's true…cause…cause Dad could do this, too. Couldn't he?" He rested his forehead against the cool glass, and all of a sudden, to Robin's eyes, her son looked old; older then her even, with all the tiredness and the weight of the world on his scrawny shoulders.

She sighed. "Yes, your father could do this too. And I know Solomon is coming after us again, Nagira has known about it for a while and is keeping me informed.

"But why now? Why not years ago when I was still little?"

"Because your powers are just awakening now and mine have always been a threat to them." Her tiredness now matched his own and she heard his harsh breathing even on the other side of the room.

"But my power really can't even be considered dangerous! All I do is get these dreams occasionally and most of the time they don't even make sense! What so harmful about dreams?!"

Robin choked as she watched her son's frustration growing, and she knew she would have to tell him. She knew she could no longer hold things back and try to protect him as she had done when he was little. Inari was growing up, and it was time for him to know the whole truth.

"Inari."

He turned and saw his mother sitting on their bed, patting the space beside her with one hand. "Come here Inari, I need to talk to you."

Warily, the boy edged over, fearful and curious at the same time about what could possibly cause his mother to act in such a way. She watched him with a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite explain because he had never seen it before. It was as if she had somehow lifted a veil off of them and if he stared deep enough, he would fall in and get lost forever.

"You're scaring me mom," he told her, his voice unsure. "What do you mean you need to tell me the whole truth?"

Robin's eyes widened even as her mouth was forming those betraying words. "I didn't speak that aloud."

With a tiny squeak, Inari clamped a hand over his mouth and gave his mother a sheepish look. "I'm sorry." He bowed his head sadly. "But I didn't mean to! I really didn't! It just kind of…hit me. Like your mind was screaming it or something.

The blonde ex-hunter gazed upon her son for a moment, then pulled him to her in a tight hug. "Yes, you're just like him,"

"Dad, you mean?"

"Yes, Michael. That was his name."

Inari sat still and looked up at his mother, watching her face closely and waiting for her to continue. Truth be told, he was anxious to learn anything and everything about this man named Michael. He had never remembered his father, for he had been hunted and killed before the boy had turned two. His mother never really spoke about him directly, and the bits and pieces Inari knew came from Nagira and scraps of information he had dug out of the old Solomon files.

"He wasn't always that way, the way you are now, with his powers of the mind. He used to be an ordinary human, except for one thing: He was a prisoner of the STN-J. For your father, Michael Lee, was a hacker, and a good one at that. But he made the mistake of hacking into the STN-J and they caught him and threatened him with death unless he promised to stay in the STN-J building and work for them for the rest of his life."

Inari gulped a little at the part about being caught hacking into Solomon. He made a mental note to himself to be more careful in the future about that.

Robin continued, not noticing her son's anxiety. "That was where I met him, at Raven's Flat, when I was sent to Japan from Italy to search for the Fragment of Wisdom."

"What's that?" Inari asked, sounding slightly confused.

But the blonde witch merely shook her head. "It is not important now, just an object I was to find. But I met your father and was drawn to him, drawn to his sadness and his despair. Eventually, we fell in love and escaped the STN-J, leaving for a life of freedom, or so we thought. Nagira helped us out and we hid for several years until the hunt was given up."

"Why?" Inari asked, sitting up fully and watching his mother with wide eyes.

"I don't know," she replied softly. "Maybe they just gave up, or maybe there was an ulterior motive behind their plans. But at any rate, we lived happily for several years, then had you." She gave him a loving smile when she said this and Inari felt a wave of affection pass through him.

But her smile faded as she came to the next part in her tale. "But…it did not last long. We had let our caution slip a little; after living so long unbothered by Solomon, we figured we were safe. By chance, our old boss saw him on the streets and…" She trailed off here and Inari saw her entire body shudder with repressed horror. "He…he never came home that night," her voice was thick with grief. "Nagira caught wind of what had happened a few days later and told me…told me he had…" Here all control was lost and Robin broke down into outright sobs.

Unsure of what to do, Inari looked uneasily at his mother, then hesitantly reached forward and hugged her. She clung to him and he to her, both of them lost in their own thoughts for many long moments before the sobs quieted and Robin's head lifted. "Solomon killed your father, because of his powers. They had begun developing even before you were born. He had these strange dreams that often came true, and could seem to sense disasters before they would happen."

Michael's son nodded; he too could do those things.

"But…that's not all."

Inari's eyes widened at her next words.

"His powers kept progressing even after that; soon, things bean to move of their own accord. Books left on the opposite side of the room would suddenly appear next to him when he wished, his computer would flicker and the power would surge when he grew angry or sad. Even worse, if he looked hard enough at something, poured all of his feeling into it, he could disintegrate it, cause it to disappear from the face of the earth for good."

She fell silent, not looking at Inari, and he felt his own eyes fall downwards. So, not only was his mother a witch, but his father as well. No wonder Solomon was after them, and no wonder he was having dreams.

"But understand this Inari, no matter what happens, I will always love you." The boy felt cool hands cup his face and identical green eyes met and stared into each other. "Your father loved you more then anything, as do I, and I know he would be proud of you right now."

With a sniffle, Inari nodded and suddenly threw himself forwards into his mother's embrace, as he had done so many times when he was little. With a knowing air, she put her arms around him and held him close as he cried; she knew she would have to pretend this moment had never happened. Inari hadn't let himself cry since he was six years old and he wouldn't be too happy about all this when it was over.

But for now, she cradled him to her body and let her own tears slip silently down her face once more.

A loud crash from the front room startled the two witches, and they jumped apart, both minds reaching for the power they knew would be there.

A rushing sensation overtook Inari's body and he almost sank back to the bed with the dizziness that accompanied it. Liquid fire seemed to sear him from the inside out and he felt as if his head were about to explode. _So this is what the Craft feels like…_

"Run, Inari!" Robin's voice cried as a sheet of fire covered the open doorway. "Out the window!"

But his feet remained rooted to the spot and the boy found himself watching as his mother scooped him up and threw open the window, tossing him out. "Run Inari! I will find you!"

The last thing he remembered was his mother's scream as the sound of gunshots exploded in his ears. Inari's hand reached up towards the window several feet above his head, before his body struck the soft ground and the world went black.

~~~

Wow, I'm surprised I haven't already been assassinated! T_T Yes, I know I killed Michel, and I know it's sad, but everything serves a purpose, as you will see from this chapter, and later on in the fic. It will become even clearer in the third part of the trilogy. Yes, ^.^, I have decided to do a sequel to this one also. Don't look for it for a while though, because we've barely scratched the surface of "I Promise You Freedom"!!

R&R!

~SanoGirl  ^_~


	4. Chapter 4

I Promise You Freedom

~~~

"Sakaki-sama?…Sakaki-sama?" An annoyed, pink-nailed hand waved itself in front of Sakaki's face and snapped him out of his stupor.

"Dude, you okay?" Azlar asked, not really sounding like he cared at all. The younger male glanced at Yurika and Karasuma and found that they had the exact same look on their faces as Sakaki. It was one of pure horror.

"R-robin…Sena?" Yurika whispered, her entire body trembling.

Azlar nodded. "That's what the report says. Her and her kid Inari."

"Her child…" Karasuma said in a dazed voice.

"Yes! Her _child!_" Azlar repeated, growing more then a little exasperated. "Are you all going deaf in your old age?"

With a growing sense of horror, the one-armed hunter turned to the smart-mouthed one and replied, "Robin…what…what does it say her power is?"

"Fire."

"And what about her…son." Sakaki's voice choked on this last word. It was bad enough they were supposed to hunt Robin without having to hunt her 12-year-ol son as well.

"Um…he's a psychic. Ya know, can move things with his mind, stuff like that."

With a squeak, Doujima grabbed her husband's arm. "SAKAKI!"

"What?!" Sakaki exclaimed, eyes immediately flying to her swollen stomach.

"The boy! The one you almost hit the other day! He looked…"

The man's eyes widened in realization. "He looked like Michael! What if…what if that was him?"

"Who looked like Michael?" Karasuma asked, her tone sharp now.

"Who's Michael???" Tima wailed.

Meanwhile, Azlar had moved back to the computer and was busy typing away. "Her dead husband," he answered the bewildered girl.

"DEAD?!" the STN-J veterans shouted in unison.

Azlar nodded, his face blank.

Aghast, the three stared at each other. "Dead…" Karasuma murmured.

Sakaki swallowed and slipped a comforting arm around his wife's waist as he saw a tear trickle down her cheek.

"Now, who's this kid you were talking about?" Azlar continued, voice still devoid of any emotion except a gruesome sort of curiosity.

"A boy ran out in front of our car the other day," Yurika said, her voice thick with all the tears still unshed. "When I looked at him, it was as if I were seeing Michael all over again." She looked at Karasuma. "He even had the same kind of glasses! Oh, Miho, I almost had a heart attack!"

Karasuma nodded, the dazed look once again on her face.

"I bet that was him," Sakaki mused, staring at the floor.

Tima, her eyes wide, was busy looking from Sakaki, to Yurika, to Miho, and back. Occasionally, she stole a glance at Azlar too, but once she saw the permanent look of boredom on his face, she did not bother anymore.

"So Robin and Michael _did_ live! At least for a little while." Yurika's face lit up as she said the first part, then fell when she realized it was only half true.

"For almost eight years, to be exact," Azlar drawled, coming to life for the first time in many long minutes. "Seriously, this is all…_heartwarming_…but we do have a job to do."

If looks could kill, the violet-eyed hunter would have been dead a thousand times over. He found himself on the receiving end of evil glares from every other member of his team, even Tima.

"How can you be so heartless?!" she shrilled.

Rolling his eyes slightly, Sakaki turned to the younger girl and motioned for her to calm down.

"I mean, how do you know these people anyway? They're both witches, or were in this Michael guy's case, so how do you know them?!" The clicking of keys had stopped a long while ago and was replaced by a silent stare from the 19-year-old hunter.

"Wait!" Karasuma exclaimed, turning on the spiky-haired hunter. "You said they were _both_ witches. Michael wasn't a witch!"

"As far as we knew, anyway," Sakaki put in.

"Well," the keys started clicking once more under agile fingers. "It says here his mother was a witch and his own powers didn't develop 'til he was almost 20 or so."

"Four years after he left…" Yurika mumbled. "We never knew."

Sadly, Karasuma shook her head as Sakaki made a sad sound in the back of his throat.

Azlar cleared his throat loudly. "I believe the original question was 'How do you know these people?'!" Usually, Azlar could not get away with copping such an attitude, especially to Sakaki, but today his sharp tongue was being overlooked by all.

"We used to work together…before…before they…" Yurika stopped, choking.

"Before they became witches," her husband finished with a sigh. "Before the ran away from the STN." He looked up at the only other male member of the STN-J team with a murderous look in his eyes.

But Azlar merely raised an eyebrow at him and reclined in his chair. "Orange hair, right? Glasses and blue eyes?"

"What?" Yurika glanced over at him, her eyes slightly reddened.

"Michael Lee, the hacker guy, Inari's father. That's what he looked like, right?" Azlar gestured towards the computer screen and all the other people clustered around the monitor. A picture of Michael, an old one granted, but still useable, floated on the screen in front of a rather large file about Robin.

"That's him alright," Sakaki admitted.

"And that's exactly what that little boy looked like," the blonde-haired hunter breathed. "That's what Inari looked like."

Tima sank into a chair. "I can't hunt a little boy!" she cried, tears welling up in her large blue-green eyes. "I just can't! Especially one they used to know!"

Karasuma moved to sit down next to the distressed girl, a handkerchief appearing in her hand. Tima tended to react to the extreme when under pressure such as this, and the older women had learned to be prepared. The men, not understanding such things, would just stand by and watch, shifting uncomfortably.

With an aggravated growl, Azlar pounded his fist down on the table, causing everyone in the room to jump. "Dammit! I don't care if the witch is your own mother! A witch is a witch and therefore must be hunted! We have a job to do, and we're going to freakin' do it so I can get paid!" He glared at each one of them in turn, a muscle in his jaw twitching.

The only sound in the room was Tima's hiccups as the four other people just stared at the irate teen. He ground his teeth and continued to glare at them, his handsome face twisted into an ugly scowl.

Calmly, Sakaki strode over to the other man and stood over him, eyes flat.

"Wha-" Azlar managed to get out before a closed fist struck him square on the cheek.

His head snapped to the side and the desk wobbled with the force of the blow. "You asswipe!" Sakaki shouted, unleashing the full force of his anger upon the insensitive youth. "How dare you say such things?! Especially when you have no idea what the hell you're talking about!"

Azlar refused to look at the older man for many long moments. Finally, he swung his head around to face him, eyes narrowed, and an ugly purple and black bruise already forming on his face. But he said nothing, just glared daggers at Sakaki.

"Haruto…" The voice of his wife brought Sakaki back to reality with a snap. With a look of almost regret in his eyes, the one-armed man turned away and went to her side, letting her take his hand in his. Only she saw the telltale glimmer in his dark eyes before he forced it away.

"Well, if none of you are going to do this, then I will!" Azlar shouted, his fire rekindled. He jumped up from his seat and raced from the room, stuffing an Orbo gun and several more rounds of Orbo bullets into his jacket pocket as he went.

The others watched him go, faces shocked. "Shouldn't we…shouldn't we try and stop him?" Tima asked timidly.

"No," Karasuma replied, shaking her head. "Robin's strong enough to take him out by herself. He's only one man and he only has one gun."

"No he doesn't," Tima sniffed and Karasuma gave her a sharp look.

"What do you mean, he doesn't?" Sakaki butted in, his voice suspicious.

"Azlar-sama has several Orbo guns!" Tima answered them, her voice still a little shaky. "Mr. Zaizen gave him a bunch more the other day. And even before that, he still had at least three or four."

"Shit!" Sakaki shouted, also jumping up and racing from the room.

He was closely followed by Karasuma, who shouted for Doujima and Tima to remain here in case anyone came by.

Stunned, the two women stayed where they were, their only movement a turning of the heads so the could exchange disorientated glances.

~~~

*decides to take a leaf out of Golden-sama's book*

*listening to "The Rage Beat" from the Gravitation soundtrack*

Okay, chapter 4 done! Sorry there wasn't any action in this one, but I had to lay down all this background information before the story could progress. I promise we will get back to Inari and Robin in the next part (since all of you are still wondering as to whether or not I am 100% evil and have killed her too).

I'm also thinking of doing a purely humorous interlude chapter; since you know, there is all this tension and suspense. I had some pretty good ideas for a parody-type-thing the other day…(Think, boozer Amon ^_~)

Speaking of Amon, my friend (Nightsailer) and I are part of an anime RPG which includes a bunch of characters from many different shows. The reason this reminded me of Amon is because, in the RPG, Amon is paired with Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop and I've been working on a sketch of the two of them to give to her. It's probably one of the best sketches I've ever done in my life, considering my drawing skills suck.

Well anyway, enough of my senseless rambling; reviews and suggestions for the parody chapter would be greatly appreciated!!!

~SanoGirl


	5. Chapter 5

I Promise You Freedom

~~~

"Remember, pump her full of as many bullets as you can, then let me take care of things from there. I'll pay you well if you manage to pull this off right."

The four men nodded at the violet eyed man and advanced towards the plain wooden door that stood before them, Orbo guns clutched tightly in their outstretched hands. Azlar himself stood a little before them, reaching the door first and kicking it in with one swift kick.

A sweeping glance around the room revealed nothing, then his eyes fell upon another doorway, this one covered by a sheet of fire. "She's in there!" he shouted, pointing towards the door. "FIRE!"

The five men ran forwards at top speed, the hail of bullets from their guns shaking the room like an earthquake. The fire wavered, yet held, and Azlar grimaced. _Time to get out that specialty Orbo Mr. Zaizen gave me…_

Ejecting the near-empty round from his gun, the teen yanked out a full one and loaded it into his gun almost faster then the eye could see. Raising the metal barrel, he aimed and fired right at the center of the fire.

The bullet seemed almost to slow, and then it was through, burning a hole in the flames themselves, and spreading outwards. In less then a second, the fire had disappeared and the bullets now soared through the doorway and struck the shadowy form inside.

Azlar grinned malevolently. _I have you now, witch!_

A sharp scream sounded from the other room and the slim shadow crumpled to the floor; the men fired for several more seconds, then ceased and looked towards the teen.

He stepped forward, chuckling inwardly at his own genius. _Pathetic creature! Even a so called 'powerful' witch falls before the Orbo!_ His booted foot caught Robin's side and flipped her body over; he noted with surprise that her eyelids still fluttered.

A tiny flame appeared on his jacket sleeve and he extinguished it with a snort. The gun in his hand fired loudly in the silence and Robin Sena's eyes slid fully shut, hiding the glittering green depths from view.

Laughing, Azlar shouted for one of the thugs he had hired to bring him the phone. Slender fingers punched in the familiar digits and soon the Factory was on its way to pick up one infamous Robin Sena.

~~~

Groaning, Inari tried to open his eyes, then immediately regretted it as bright sunlight flooded his vision. He flung one skinny arm over his eyes and sat up, head throbbing as he did so. It took the boy a few moments to remember where he was and why he was there, and when he did…

"MOM!!"

He jumped to his feet, ignoring the exploding pain in his head and ran around the house, his mother's scream echoing loud in his ears. _No! She can't be!_

Feet pounding on the ground, the green-eyed boy barreled around the corner of the house, only to find that the front door had been brutally kicked in. Racing inside, he searched the small rooms of the house and found no one, only charred burn marks around the doorway where she had tried to shield them with her craft.

Collapsing to his knees in the middle of the floor, Inari felt tears slide down his cheeks for the second time that day. She was gone…she was really…gone…

~~~

Sakaki's car screeched to a halt outside the house just as the Factory van pulled away. Slamming his fist down on the steering wheel, he swore loudly and caught an answering curse from Karasuma over the headset. Fuming, he swung open the door and stepped outside, watching as the black vehicle disappeared down the road and Azlar came out of the house, a wide smirk plastered on his face.

"You bastard!" the one-armed hunter shouted, turning to the younger man. "Why the hell did you do that?!"

"She was a witch." His purple eyes danced. "And witches are scum, witches defile the human race. Witches _deserve_ to be hunted."

"That's not true!" Karasuma exclaimed, getting out of her car.

But Azlar just sneered at her. "I think you really have gone senile in your old age, all of you!"

Growling, Sakaki took a menacing step forward, satisfied when Azlar took one back, his bruised cheek twitching. Karasuma moved to stand next to her partner and laid a restraining hand on his arm. "Get out of here, Azlar," she said, voice as chill as a winter's breeze. "Just go home for the rest of the day."

Eying Sakaki warily the entire time, the violet-eyed teen edged around the two other hunters and swung his slender form onto the motorcycle parked outside. "She was a witch!" he said again, and revving up the engine, sped off.

Sighing, Karasuma released Sakaki's arm and steeled herself for the outburst that was sure to come.

"Why the hell did you stop me?!" Sure enough, Sakaki's anger was soon redirected at her.

"Because you can't win everything by physical force."

"Well, it would have helped!" Sakaki shouted in return, his stubbornness not surprising the woman in the least.

"You men are all alike," was the only answer he got before Karasuma's attention was diverted from him. "Look!"

Whirling around, the male hunter caught a flash of orange as a skinny blur disappeared into the recently vacated house. "Do you think…" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, started up the steps.

Miho followed him closely, eager for a glimpse of Michael and Robin's child, if that's who this truly was. Sakaki's steps were slow and quiet on the front steps, and Karasuma found herself doing the same. Quiet sobs reached their ears as they mounted the last step, peering into the house through the open doorway.

A small form was slumped on the floor, tears running down his face. Karasuma gasped loudly when she saw him; he really did look like Michael!

Startled, Inari looked up and found two strange people standing in his front door, watching him with a look of amazement in their eyes. Getting shakily to his feet, he backed away suspiciously and asked, "W-who are you?"

"You're Inari, aren't you?" Sakaki asked in return, stepping into the room.

"Don't come any closer!" the 12-year-old screamed. "How do you know who I am?!" Emerald green eyes flickered rapidly between the two faces and Karasuma found herself almost overwhelmed by pity.

The boy was scrawny, and obviously mistrustful of anyone he didn't know. Though he was small, there was a lean sort of toughness about him that spoke of a hard-lived life and an air of quiet strength that belied his actual age. His eyes glittered behind Michael's old glasses and Karasuma noted that their color was identical to Robin's. Tattered clothes and pair of old sneakers further confirmed her suspicions that this was indeed a child who had lived in poverty and hiding for most, if not all, of his life.

"It's ok," she said soothingly, taking a single step forward and stopping, her hands outstretched in front of her. "We're friends of your mother's. Robin's friends."

Eyes narrowing, Inari took in her face, then turned to Sakaki and stared even harder. "You're the man who almost hit me the other day…" he finally said, voice slow as if coming to a great and astounding revelation.

Sakaki nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that kid. I should have been watching where I was going."

Suddenly, the full revelation broke through on Inari's face. "Wait! I know you!" One long finger jabbed itself in the direction of Sakaki's chest, and the brunette jumped a little in surprise. "You were in my dream too! It said you would be coming here and that you were going to help me!" He paused for a moment, ignoring the looks of utter bewilderment on the adults' faces. "Haruto Sakaki…yeah…That's your name, right?" He turned hopeful eyes upon the one-armed hunter.

Gulping, Sakaki nodded and sank into one of the chairs by the kitchen table. "H-how did you know that, kid?"

"It's kind of hard to explain," Inari replied, all his fear seemingly gone now. "But my dad could do it, too! Sort of like reading minds, I guess, except I don't have to go very deep just to figure out your name."

"Amazing…" Karasuma whispered. "Just like the files said…"

Inari nodded. "Yeah, Solomon's got a file on me and my mom. They had one on my dad too, but it deleted itself and I really couldn't get much from it."

"So you're a hacker, too?" the older woman asked, a smile on her face. _They're exactly alike, these two…_

"You bet!" Inari exclaimed, taking a seat as she did. "And anyway, Solomon's files aren't that hard to hack into, since my dad took care of his firewalls on them before he…" The boy clamped his mouth shut abruptly and Karasuma nodded sympathetically.

"You are so much like you're dad," Sakaki said. "It's freaking me out."

"That's what my mom said too, before-" This time when he stopped, there was a confused frown on his face. "Actually, I'm not really sure what happened to her." Tears glistened in his eyes once more and caused his voice to shake. "I just want her back. I'm afraid to live alone…"

In that instant, the insecure little boy that Inari Lee really was shone through like a beacon. The other two realized instantly that although he may seem wise beyond his years because of the harsh life of a witch in hiding, underneath all that he was still a scared little boy.

Reaching over with one hand, Karasuma patted his arm. "It's okay, Inari. We're going to help you now."

"Yeah, we'll get your mother back from those rat bastards at Solomon!" Sakaki exclaimed, his eyes shining fiercely.

"So it was Solomon that took her away?" Inari asked, wiping the tears away before they could spill over.

Both hunters nodded. "Without a doubt."

Inari's eyes hardened. "First they killed my father, and now they've taken my mother!"

"They're after you too, Inari, so you're going to have to be careful." Karasuma's voice held a warning tone in it, but the hacker child only rolled his eyes.

"You sound like Nagira," he said, exasperated.

"Nagira…Nagira…" Sakaki muttered. "Now why does that name sound familiar?"

Inari shrugged. "At any rate," Karasuma continued, standing up. "You can't stay here anymore. You're going to have to find somewhere to stay while we figure out a plan to help Robin."

"I know where Nagira's office is, I'll go ask him if I can stay there."

"Good, make sure you take all your things with you and don't let yourself be seen if you can help it!"

"Better yet, I'll drive you over there," Sakaki told him, also getting up.

Eyes gleaming, Inari gave them both a grateful look and disappeared into the other room.

"I just hope we're doing the right thing," the one-armed hunter muttered, glancing over at his partner.

~~~

Meanwhile, miles away, the Factory van was turning into the large, concrete building that gave it its name. After clearing all the security gates, the van parked inside and a team of researchers appeared to unload the precious cargo.

"Mr. Zaizen will be happy about this," one of the masked workers said to the other.

"Yeah, it'll only speed up our Orbo research," one of his co-workers answered.

"Not only that, Mr. Zaizen has special plans for this witch," a third chimed in. "He's starting up the genetic engineering project again, only this time in reverse."

"What do you mean?" the first asked, pausing in his work for a moment.

"He's going to try and implant a gene in witches that will destroy their entire race, Seeds and all."

~~~

Wow, everyone really hates Azlar. I've gotten some pretty extreme reactions to his behavior from you guys; although he can never even hope to live up to the infamous David Rica. *winks* (And if you don't have any clue as to what the hell I am talking about, go read Golden-Sama's Coven Series. NOW! I order you, or in the next chapter I will kill off everyone but Chief Kosaka and have the rest of the story be about him. ^_~)

I guess that's it for now, except for the fact that I am still the target of much anger for killing off both Amon and Michael. T_T YOU STILL HAVE SAKAKI! (Even though he _is_ married…)

~SanoGirl


	6. Chapter 6

I Promise You Freedom

~~~

The car cruised easily along the roads, going at a moderate pace that did not exceed the speed limit. Sakaki chatted easily with the boy beside him; about computers, about Robin, even about Michael. And even in that short amount of time, the one-armed hunter felt as if he really got an insight into Inari's personality. He felt…well…almost as if he had known the boy for years.

Not surprising…he's like Michael in every way… 

Shaking his head to dislodge that stubborn thought, Sakaki reminded himself once again that Michael and Inari were both two very different people. He wondered if Karasuma had to do the same thing…

"Turn right here."

Inari's voice chased away the last of his stray thoughts, and Sakaki's one good hand rotated the wheel with ease and a speed that had only come through much practice.

Catching Inari's questioning glance, Sakaki gave a short chuckle. "Not a pretty sight, is it?" he asked.

Flushing a little at being caught staring, Inari shook his head. "It's not that," he said. "I just wondered how you did it, is all."

"On a witch hunt…almost 20 years ago…" Sakaki trailed off. "That's when things really started to change."

"Huh?" Inari gave him a confused look.

"Well, 20 years ago, both your mother and father still worked with us for the STN-J. 20 years ago, we met with a brother team of two witches that killed one of our teammates, took my arm, and severely hurt Robin. Earlier, his brother had hurt Michael too, after he had broken his promise to never leave the building and had hunted him down."

"But why?…Oh, turn left here, then go straight about a mile more."

Nodding, Sakaki turned once again. "Because his mother, your grandmother, was murdered by that witch."

"Oh," was Inari's only reply, and the boy turned his face to look out the window.

"After that, Michael went to see Robin in the hospital, and the two ran off together and had you. We didn't hear from them at all in those years, so it was kind of a surprise to learn about their lives and yours."

"I see. But, Sakaki, why? Why do you hunt witches? And why aren't you hunting _me?_"

Sighing, the older man shook his head. "Because you are Robin's son."

But before the younger boy could inquire further, Nagira's law office building loomed up ahead. "There!" he cried, pointing a bony finger at the white brick building. "Pull up here!"

With another practiced flick of his wrist, Sakaki spun the wheel and pulled up at the curb. Inari reached into the backseat, grabbed his bag and turned back to the brown haired hunter. "Thanks," he said, somewhat awkwardly.

Sakaki grinned. "No problem, kid. You just be a careful, ok? We'll get in touch with you soon."

Nodding, Inari exited the car and stood watching until it had faded into the distance, down the road. He then turned and stepped into the cool interior of Nagira's office building.

~~~

"So, you see, Mr. Nagira, you're so backed up, you can't leave the office for the next two weeks!" Exasperated, the blonder secretary finished her tirade and watched as the gray and brown haired man sitting before her merely lit up another cigarette and gave her a patronizing stare.

"Alright, alright!" he agreed, just as Inari entered the room. "Inari!" he shouted, leaping up from his chair. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

And in that moment, all the emotions the boy had been holding back, all the tears and all the fear, spilled over like water bursting through a dam. "Nagira…" Inari ran forwards into the older man's embrace, throwing his arms about his waist.

Heaving a tired sigh, Nagira flopped back in his desk chair, pulling the crying boy onto his lap.

With a little smile, his secretary inclined her head to her boss and retreated to her own desk. She knew how special Inari was to Nagira—almost like the son he'd never had, but had always wanted—and didn't wish to interrupt their time together. The clients and her lecture could wait a few more minutes until this was sorted out.

"What's the matter Inari?" the older man asked after the flow of tears had slowed considerably. "And where's Robin?" He pulled back a little. "I thought I told you to be careful when you went out!"

Ignoring the stern tone in his father figure's voice, Inari gave him a tear-stained glance and blurted out, "Solomon came. They came and took away my mom!"

~~~

The atmosphere at Raven's Flat was silent and strained. Doujima sat next to Sakaki, both of them pouring over old files from back in their Witch hunting with Robin days, while Karasuma sat quietly with Tima, the two women both absently staring at nothing. Azlar stood on his own by the window, tapping his foot quietly and ignoring the occasional glances he was getting from the veteran hunters.

"Did you notice his necklace?" Sakaki called to Karasuma.

"No…" she replied distantly, playing with a dog-eared corner of one of the papers on her lap.

"He was wearing Robin's old necklace," Sakaki told her, skimming the computer screen for any important information. "You know, that funny shaped green pendant of hers."

"Oh, really?" Karasuma asked. "Do you think it had any sort of special significance?"

A heavy sigh met her ears. "I don't know, I just don't know. Nothing seems to make sense any more, everything's been turned upside down. We find Robin, only to lose her again, we discover Michael's dead, and that they have a son! Then there's the fact that Solomon's after them…" His dark eyes flickered to Azlar's slender form by the window.

"Dammit!" the purple-eyed youth shouted suddenly, slamming his fist down upon the sill. "I'm sorry, ok?! Now will you all stop looking at me as if I'm the Devil himself?!" He turned an angry face towards their own shocked ones and gauged their reactions.

Shock was written across every countenance that looked at him, but the room remained silent. "It was just another hunt for me! I was only obeying Solomon's orders, all right?!" He dropped his head and stared at the floor as if ashamed. This got Sakaki's attention more then the outburst had; Azlar almost never dropped his gaze like that.

In a rare moment of compassion, the one armed walked over and clapped the younger man on the shoulder. Clenching his fists in an attempt to hide the slight trembles that ran through his body, the brown-haired teen raised his eyes and glanced at Sakaki.

The other brunette nodded to him and gave him what he hoped was an understanding and somewhat forgiving look. Turning, he returned to his seat by his wife and received an approving glance from the pregnant woman.

Karasuma hid her small smile behind one hand and finally voiced the thought that had been tickling her mind for some time now. "Would you like to help us Azlar?"

His violet eyes bored into hers, but the older hunter did not look away. "If we're going to get Robin back, we'll need all the help we can get."

With a little of his old self-assurance returning, Azlar spared her a momentary grin and snatched one of the files from off Tima's lap.

"Azlar!" she half-squealed, half-giggled. "Gimmie!"

Smirking cockily, he pulled up a chair and began paging through the papers with Karasuma and the younger girl, listening as the veterans told the newer members exactly what had happened all those years ago, and everything else they knew about Robin. His mind processed and catalogued everything he heard, filing it away for future reference, and forgetting nothing.

And as the sun slipped down below the horizon, Nagira tucked an exhausted Inari into bed in the small room above the law office, climbing down the ladder that led to the loft with a slight creaking on knees and a rather loud cracking of his back.

Stifling a groan, he stretched and tried to pop the vertebrae in his spine. "_I'm getting too old for this,_" he thought with a half smirk and left the room, shutting off the lights as he went.

"Inari's going to be staying here with us for a while," he informed Hana before she left for the evening. He snatched his own coat from where it rested upon his chair and yawned widely.

"Sure thing, Mr. Nagira," she replied, in a slightly patronizing tone. "But don't expect me to show up any earlier to feed him or anything. I know you're fond of him, but I have no time to take care of little boys."

"Relax," Nagira replied, locking the door behind them. "I think you'll be surprised at how well Inari can take care of himself."

"Well…we'll see," she replied.

~~~

"So…they're going to try and get her back, are they?" Zaizen heaved a sigh and exhaled a cloud of pungent smoke from his cigar into the air of his office.

The tall, shadowy form that stood before him nodded and resisted the urge to couch when the thick smoke clogged his nostrils. "They seem to think they can just walk into the Factory and take her away from us."

With a snort, the aged man snubbed out his cigar and grabbed the cane leaning on his desk by his left hand. Leaning heavily on the polished wood, he moved around the desk and stood in front of the other man, looking up at him, but seeming imposing nonetheless.

What little starlight seeped through the windows behind them threw sharp shadows and angles over everything in the room, making it seem even colder and starker then it was by day.

"Well, we'll see that they won't succeed. Continue to monitor them and keep me up to date on their progress. I want to know exactly when they're going to move and how."

"Yes, Zaizen, sir," the form said, then retreated from the dark office and left the bitter old man to stew in his own thoughts.

One word echoed in his mind as he turned and gazed listlessly out the window.

ROBIN… 

~~~

I'm really sorry about the long wait between the updates! GOMEN! *bows* But I have been so busy lately and everything just seemed to be dumped upon me at once so, I didn't have much time.

Any anyway, I really don't like this chapter. Everything's progressing a lot slower then I thought and this one does nothing to really change that. I can promise though, that a lot of things will start happening NEXT chapter…The plot thickens…^_~

~SanoGirl

NEXT TIME: Who is this mysterious guy Zaizen wants to watch the STN-J team? Why is Zaizen himself still around? Doesn't that old geezer EVER die?! And what about Doujima's baby…


	7. Chapter 7

Reuploaded this chapter because it was brought to my attention that my scene breaks were nonexistent…Something got screwed up there so sorry for any confusion!!!

---

I Promise You Freedom

---

"I don't know, Tima, we're just going to have to wait and see. Double-check those files I gave you yesterday; see what they say. Azlar! Did you manage to hack into Solomon's computers yet?!"

"Yeah, found out where they've taken Robin and everything," the violet-eyed hunter told the older man. "Even says something here about genetic research…"

"What?! Well, forget that for now. Try and figure out what they're going to do with her and when." Sakaki ran agitated fingers through his already messy hair.

"You got it," Azlar replied, turning back to his computer screen.

"Sakaki! Have you checked on Inari lately?!" Karasuma strode into the room and dumped her coat and gun onto a chair. Their latest hunt had, thankfully, been an easy one, which only required Karasuma and Yurika to take care of. The latter strode in slightly slower, drawing near to Sakaki's side and slipping her arm through his good right one.

"Not yet, Miss Karasuma. We've been busy the past few days."

"Well, see that you do!" The older woman began hurriedly digging through the drawers of what had once been Kosaka's desk. About 10 or so years after Robin and Michael left, the cranky, bald man had retired, leaving Zaizen to choose Karasuma as his replacement. Of course, the brunette did a lot more work then the Chief had ever done, and she still actively participated in almost every one of their hunts.

At that moment, if Zaizen had walked into the Flat, he would have seen nothing but chaos and heard nothing but a loud babble of voices and the softer undertones of humming computer monitors. But luckily, since he was getting on in years, Zaizen did not come into work everyday, choosing instead to come in every other week or so to make routine inspections and such.

Of course, he did have a manager to stay in his absence and oversee the STN-J team, but the hunters had only seen him a handful of times. A shadowy man, who was known to them only as "S", he did not really care what they did, so long as Zaizen paid him. Most of his time was actually spent at Harry's or some other such place, not in the office as was expected of him.

"They're going to do Orbo research on her!"

Azlar's astounded shout silenced all other talk like a solid brick wall. Papers rustled and the computers continued to hum and whir, but no other human voice was heard. The STN-J team had ceased to function as time seemed to stand still.

"Orbo research?!"

---

"Are you crazy?! Inari, you can't go back there! Solomon's sure to be watching the place!"

"I'm not gonna be gone real long, I just need to get a few things, ok?! I'll be back really soon!" The boy cast his mentor a pleading glance.

"Inari…" Nagira heaved a sigh. "Fine, but I'm going to come with you." He rose from his chair and shrugged into his heavy white coat.

"Wait! Mr. Nagira! Where do you think you're going?!" Hana's outraged screech followed them as they opened the door.

"Inari and I are going out for a while, that's all. We'll be back soon!" He waved jauntily to the fuming woman and shut the door firmly behind them.

The sun was warm overhead as the two men walked down the sidewalk towards Inari and Robin's old house. So warm, in fact, that the older man soon slipped out of his coat and draped it over one arm. A sidelong glance from Inari pulled a chuckle from his lips.

"Why do you always wear that thing anyway?" Inari asked him after hearing the laughter. "I mean, it's older then I am!"

Another peal of laughter sounded from the older man. "I wear it because someone very special gave it to me, is that good enough?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"I guess so."

But the laughter and good humor died as the two turned onto the block where Inari's deserted house stood. Nagira stuck out a hand to halt his young charge. "Alright," he said, lowering his voice instinctively. "Solomon is probably still keeping an eye on this place, so get in, grab your stuff, and get out! We need to be gone before they even know we're here."

"Gotcha, Nagira! Make sure ya don't get a bullet in your fat old butt!"

With a good-natured growl, Nagira swung his hand at the orange-haired head as the boy darted forward. The two stole forwards, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as they approached the concrete steps leading up to the house.

"Remember, get in, get out!" Nagira said as Inari mounted the steps. "I'll keep an eye on things out here." He positioned his lanky form at the bottom of the flight of steps and swept his brown eyes up and down the street.

Inari darted inside, with many a glance over his shoulder, and ducked into the old room he had shared with Robin.

Nagira's eyes were everywhere at once, his worry for the boy growing with every passing second. _I never should have brought him here. I'm such a dumbass!_ Shifting nervously, he reached one hand deep into the pocket of his large overcoat and fingered the barrel of the small, black hidden there. Reassured a little by the presence of the gun, his stomach settled somewhat.

"Got it, Nagira!" The dull brown bag that Robin's son brandished proudly was stuffed full to bursting, but the older man knew the questions could wait until later.

"Let's go," he said and turned to head back down the street towards his law office.

But at that moment, gunfire rained upon the two from every angle and the sounds of many feet echoed in their ears.

---

The silence in the room was broken by a soft gasp from Yurika and loud cursing from her husband. Karasuma just seemed stunned by the news, Tima sitting quietly by her side, mouth hanging open.

"Dammit!" Sakaki shouted again, kicking at the computer desk in frustration. "What kind of research?! Does it say?!"

Azlar's fingers flew over the keys and his eyes skimmed pages and pages of graphs, reports, notes, data, and old history and runes. "Not really…something about Orbo Research and genetics…"

"Genetics?" This time it was Karasuma who spoke up, her shock apparently having worn off.

"Yeah…it's not real specific though; most of their files containing the important info are probably protected by some serious firewalls. It only mentions something about the difference in DNA between witches and humans, and which genes it is specifically that gives them their power." His brow drew down into a frown and a few locks of brown hair fell into his prying eyes.

"What?" The other male hunter's eyes narrowed and he leaned over the younger man's shoulder, trying to see what it was that absorbed him so. His lips moved silently as he read and his eyes grew wider and wider with each passing movement. "Destroying the entire witch race…Azlar! See if you can get more!"

But as soon as his fingers touched the keys once more and began probing further, a warning note sounded and the entire computer screen went blank. Slamming his fists down on the desk in frustration, Azlar let loose a string of swear words that made Yurika cringe and Tima go pink.

Ignoring the obscenities, Sakaki sat down dazedly and stared at nothing. "He's going to try and destroy the entire race of Witches…by implanting a gene in their DNA that will turn their own powers upon them and eventually wipe them out."

Tima's eyes were wide. "And…and he wants to use R-Robin for that, right?" Her petite frame shook a little.

"Apparently so…"

---

"Run Inari, run! Get out of here!"

Nagira yanked out the gun he had been touching before and frantically tried to locate the source of the bullets now raining down around them. Moments after the shots had begun, he had somehow managed to yank them both behind the steps to the front door of Robin's house, the concrete giving them some measure of cover.

"But Nagira-"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The graying man gave the younger boy a gentle push before whipping around to aim the gun wildly at an unseen target.

Stumbling a little, Inari tore off around the corner of his house and darted away between the houses behind. Soon he had entered the busier part of the city, not too far from Nagira's office. Panting, he slowed down a little and glanced back over his shoulder, hoping to see the man that had become his father figure.

_What the heck am I doing here?! Nagira's back there…I shouldn't have left him!_ Guilt flooding his system, Inari whirled around to head back to his house, and found himself face-to-face with a black clothed, black-masked figure.

Letting out a squeak of surprise, he turned back around and fled down the nearest alleyway, praying it wouldn't be a dead end.

It was.

---

Sorry to leave off at such a cliffhanger but seeing as how it's…12:30am, I'm gonna leave off here. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I have been SO busy lately that I've had no time whatsoever to write.

But anyway, on to some of your questions and comments…

Yes, I admit it, I stole Inari's name from Naruto. For those of you who don't read Naruto (and you should; it's an excellent series with great art), Inari is a little boy who befriends Naruto after his father his executed. Naruto helps him to become a man and learn to stand up himself and what he believes in. (And Kanno, I LOVE Kakashi, too. He's my favorite character, next to Iruka.)

And as for Golden-Sama's question on the technology, well yes, I guess it would be slightly more advanced since it is now 20 years in the future. But not _too_ much; I'm keeping mostly everything the same, except, obviously, the genetic research and such. There might be a few mirnor changes, but nothing earth shattering.

So, NachoManLance, you think you know who my "shadowy baddie" is? E-mail me if you want to take a guess…That goes for anyone!

And as for Zaizen…yes I know he's old, and I know he should die, but just not yet. smirks I have…other plans for him…

Once again, I'm really sorry about taking forever to update! Hopefully my school workload will slack off a little bit (NO MORE PROJECTS!) and I'll be able to write more.

SanoGirl


	8. Chapter 8

I Promise You Freedom

---

The gunshots faded from his ringing ears as he whirled to face the black-clothed figure that had followed him. This one figure was soon joined by two others, and they advanced slowly upon the trembling boy, guns held before them.

Eyes widening in fear, Inari stumbled back two steps for every one of theirs and all too soon found himself backed against the grimy back wall of the alley. The figures before him soon blocked out what little sunlight still filtered through from the street and above, and a small gust swirled down from up above and ruffled the young witch's hair lightly.

His heart was pounding, and his head was spinning, trying to think of a way out of this. Blood rushed loudly in his ears, drowning out the now faint ringing of the guns. He blinked, and suddenly the world tilted before him, turning a bloody shade of red as it shifted beneath his feet.

The pounding in his ears now encompassed his entire body, and Inari found himself wishing that the men before him would just shoot him and get it over with so he could escape the awful burning feeling now flooding his body.

Blinking again, the boy raised his head a little and came face-to-face with the end of a gun. Gasping loudly, he threw his arms up in front of his face as if to shield it and let out a loud scream.

About half a block away, Nagira finished reloading his handgun and quickly ran towards the sound of Inari's voice, leaving several bleeding, but not dead, black forms behind him. _Damn! They had better not do anything to him!_

His breath came harshly now, and Nagira made a mental note to himself that he wasn't young anymore.

A sudden splash of color caught his eye, and Nagira turned, catching sight of a small alleyway from which more red color issued. Cocking his gun, he took wary steps toward the entrance and peered in, nearly choking at what he saw.

Inari sat slumped against the back wall of the alleyway, spattered in what appeared to be blood and panting as if he had just run several miles. His eyes were frozen open it seemed, and his hands twitched every few seconds, as if they were grasping for something that wasn't there.

"Inari!" With a shout, Nagira ran forward, tucking his gun back into the pocket of his coat and pulling the younger boy into a fierce hug. "Are you hurt? What the hell happened here?!"

Reaching into a different pocket this time, the graying man pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping some of the blood off Inari's face. "Is this your blood?" His tone was gentle, almost indifferent, as if he were talking over a cup of tea and not over a river of blood. He could see the horror and the shock in his young charge's eyes, and was trying his best to put him at ease.

Slowly, Inari shook his head.

"Well then, is it the blood of the people who were shooting at us?"

This time, the slow nod was accompanied by silent tears. "I killed them Nagira…I killed them…"

"Shh, Inair, it's ok. Let's just get out of here and-"

"No, it's NOT OK!" Inari's sudden shout caused the older man to pull back a little.

More tears ran down his face now and shuddering sobs were beginning the wrack the boy's body. "I didn't mean to kill them! It just happened! Everything turned red and spun around me and the next thing I knew…" A particularly violent shudder rippled through the slender form of Robin's son, and Nagira once again pulled him into a hug.

"…The next thing I knew…they were dead and I was covered in their blood."

Glancing over his shoulder, Nagira noticed that blood was all that was left; there was no sign of flesh, of their clothes, or of their guns. Nothing remained except the crimson fluid that stained the sidewalk, walls, and bodies of the two people there.

_It seems as if he has the Craft, too…just like his dad…_

Pushing that thought and all it entailed out of his mind for the moment, Nagira lifted Inari into his arms and turned around to exit the alleyway, intent on taking the boy back to the law office and cleaning him up a bit. Inari stirred a little and buried his face in the older man's chest, tears once more silent as they continued to make tracks in the blood covering his face.

"Come on, Inari. We're going home."

---

"Good afternoon, sir. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait because Mr. Nagira is out at the moment."

"Uh…I'm not here to see him, I'm here to see the little boy that came to stay with him here. Inari." Sakaki rubbed the back of his head awkwardly under the scrutinizing stare of Hana and almost took a step back.

Next to him, Karasuma smiled tiredly as Hana's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Inari?"

"Yes, we're…we're sort of like his unofficial guardians. Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Oh, really?" The blonde secretary before them crossed her arms over her chest and opened her mouth, looking as if she were about to give them another lecture.

"I don't think-"

"HANA!"

The door to the main office burst open, and Nagira's tall, lanky forma appeared, covered in what appeared to be blood and clutching a small form to his chest. "Could you get me some towels and hot water?!" He barely spared a glance towards the two STN-J members as he mounted lay Inari down on a couch and tossed his now red and white coat to the floor.

"What happened to you?!" Hana screeched.

"HANA!" Anger and a piercing warning note sounded in his voice this time, and the secretary scurried off to do as she was told, a glimpse of fear showing in her eyes.

"Inari!" Sakaki exclaimed, rushing over to the couch and falling to one knee beside it, Karasuma right behind him. "Look at all this blood!"

With a pained look, Inari closed his eyes and turned his face away to face the back of the couch. "It's not mine, so please don't worry about me."

With a concerned look, Karasuma reached out and touched the boy's arm gently. "What happened?"

"My Craft," he answered dully.

"Your Craft?!" Sakaki exclaimed incredulously.

"Some guys from Solomon were chasing after us," Nagira explained, taking worn towels and a kettle of warm water from Hana. "They cornered Inari and his Craft took over on instinct and-"

"I didn't mean to kill them!" Inari proclaimed, sitting up and giving both Karasuma and Sakaki fearful looks. "I swear I didn't! And I won't do it again, so you don't have to hunt me! Please, I-"

"Whoa! Calm down for a minute!" Sakaki exclaimed in response to Inari's outburst, bring his one hand up in front of him.

"We're not going to hunt you," Karasuma added in a reassuring tone as Nagira handed the hacker boy a damp towel.

Looking relieved despite everything that had happened to him in the past hour, Inari accepted the towel and began cleaning the crimson blood from his skin. A half terrified, half disgusted look crept over his face and he fought back the urge to throw up everything he had eaten so far that day.

The three adults near him merely watched in silence, catching glimpses of the inner war he waged against himself on his young face; the face that looked so much like Michael's that it gave them chills every time they looked at it.

"What about my mom?" Inari asked suddenly, putting down the towel and giving the older hunters a questioning stare.

Turning his gaze to the floor, Sakaki remained quiet and massaged the stump where his left arm had once been. Next to him, Karasuma also remained quiet, her face looking slightly guilty as her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

"Did something happen to my mom?!" Inari's voice was getting frantic, and Nagira could see the panic in his eyes.

"No," the one-armed man answered, still keeping his eyes lowered. "Not yet, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Inari…They, Solomon that is, they…want to use Robin…for Orbo and genetic research."

All the blood drained from his face as Inari took in the older woman's words. "Orbo…research…"

With a groan, he fell back onto the couch and covered his face with an arm, tears flowing from his eyes for the second time that day.

---

Well, chapter 8 is finished and posted! . Hope you all enjoyed it!

My random ramblings for this chapter are going to be on the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", which is what I listened to while I wrote this chapter. If there are any of you out there you haven't heard it…well then, you've missed out on a lot. The music is so powerful and moving, it blows me away every time. The story itself is just as good as the music, so if there are many big opera or musical fans out there, listen to this!

My other rant is going to be about Wolf's Rain…What a good show! I can't get enough of this, it totally rocks! It's done by the same people who did the Cowboy Bebop movie, which I own and love TO DEATH, and it's a shame that I can only see it once a week. Tsume is by far my favorite character, and what I find really freakin' awesome is that his voice actor, Crispin Freeman, is also the guy who did AMON'S VOICE! Mr. Freeman seems to have a thing for dark, brooding, anti-social characters… -

But anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave me your feedback!

-SanoGirl


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